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Vicki Paloympis (潘薇琦)
Head of Department, VP, Specialist
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Lot 828Important Chinese Art from a North American Private Collection
A DATED GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AN AMITAYUS
QIANLONG PERIOD, INCISED WITH CYCLICAL GENGYIN DATE, CORRESPONDING TO 1770, AND OF THE PERIOD
Fermé17 September 2026
Prix réalisé
USD 24,320
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Note du spécialiste
Amitayus is known as the ‘Buddha of Infinite Light’ and the ‘One who grants long life’. The deity is seen here in a classic representation seated in the lotus position (dhyanasana), with the hands held in meditation supporting a vessel (kalasha), which holds the elixir of immortality. As one of the most popular deities from the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, images of Amitayus found great favor with the Emperor Qianlong.
The current figure belongs to a group of cyclically-marked gilt-bronze Amitayus figures commissioned by Qianlong as gifts to his mother, the Empress Dowager, who was a devout Buddhist, in commemoration of her sixtieth and seventieth birthdays. Figures of Amitayus were often depicted in groups of nine, since ‘nine’ is a homophone for ‘eternity’.
The current figure belongs to a group of cyclically-marked gilt-bronze Amitayus figures commissioned by Qianlong as gifts to his mother, the Empress Dowager, who was a devout Buddhist, in commemoration of her sixtieth and seventieth birthdays. Figures of Amitayus were often depicted in groups of nine, since ‘nine’ is a homophone for ‘eternity’.